I’m back! Â Thanks for being patient with me as I recovered from this pesky infection and waded through mountains of work. Â I’m holed up in the Bombay airport, waiting to check in for my flight. Â Hell would be nicer place to wait. Â While I suffer through smelly neighbors and eardrum-crushingly loud announcements, enjoy reading the latest installment of ERW – I’m featuring my close friend and fellow entrepreneur Julia of Lemon Stripes. Â Enjoy!
Julia Dzafic
Founder & CEO, Lemon Stripes
I am a bit of a freak when it comes to packing. Oh wait – I’m a freak about most things, given my OCD tendancies. Here’s my deal: I make a list 2-3 days before my trip, even if it’s just a weekend at home in New Hampshire. The day before, I pull out everything that I need for the trip and organize it in piles on my bed (separated by shirts, pants, work out gear, etc). Once I can see everything laid out, I usually realize that I’m insane and don’t need 5 dresses for a 3 day long weekend and take out the extras.
I fold everything as neatly as possible, and always stuff my socks and undies into a bag so they aren’t floating. My other trick is that I always put each pair of shoes into a shoe bag so that they don’t touch my clothes (Hello OCD!).  Next comes the jewelry which is the most important part of packing for me. I always need multiple jewelry options for each day I’m away so this is where I really go crazy. I have a Gorjana jewelry wallet and fill it to the brim with necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings. My sister never packs accessories when we go away together because she knows I’ll have so many with me!
I wish I was one of those people who could get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time.  Somehow, I always seem to make it with just enough time to snap up some magazines and a bottle of water at Hudson News before boarding. If I do have extra time, I like to browse around at Brookstone or Duty Free, using the hand cream samples and all that fun stuff. I always try to pack my own food so that I don’t have to spend $32 on a salad and a cookie that tastes like cardboard.  When it comes to security lines, I’m kind of a pro, removing my watch and shoes before I even get to the line, and keeping my laptop at the top of my bag for easy removal. Slow people in security lines drive me up a wall so I strive not to be one of them.
I always say that I’m going to work on flights, but I always end up watching movies. It’s like the only time that I feel it’s acceptable for me to be offline, so it’s a nice break. As soon as I get on the plane, I break out my Vanity Fair and read that until we take off, then I put on my headphones and watch movies the rest of the way while trying to get in a few pages of my book in between. Sometimes I download something I really want to see on my iPad ahead of time.  I always sit on the aisle because I drink so much water (do the math, people!). It’s super important to stay hydrated on airplanes because they are so dry. I drink probably a bottle of water/hour while flying so when I get a window seat, my neighbors hate me. I always order just water with lemon to supplement the bottles I brought with me. For snacks, I bring trail mix, Larabars, fruit, some sort of dark chocolate for a treat, and a salad or sandwich when I can.
Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag - Baggu set of zipped bags – iPad – MacBook Air – Kindle –
– green tea spray (see the recipe below!) – Frends headphones – scarf -  toothbrush and travel sized toothpaste –
- C.Wonder make up bag with Mac Studio Fix powder and other makeup –
Home made green tea spray- I brew a batch of green tea, let it cool, and then pour it into a travel sized spray bottle. I spray it on my face every hour or so to avoid puffiness from traveling. (Editor’s note – so trying this!)
